Improvement in ruffling attachments for sewing-machines



EDWIN J. .TOOF.

Improvement in Rutfiing Attachments for Sewing Machines.

120 173 Q Patented 0ct.24,1871.

- WWW UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWIN J. TOOF, or FORT MADISON, IOWA.

IMPROVEMENT IN RUFFLING ATTACHMENTS FOR v$EWING-MAQHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent 0. 120,173,dated0ctobe1 24, 1 871.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN J. TOOF, of Fort Madison, in the county of Lee-and State of Iowa, have invented certain Improvements in Ruffling Attachments for Sewing-lllachines', of which the- 'following is a specification:

The nature of I my invention consists in the combination of an arm, feed-plate, and lever, constructed, arranged, and operating with relation to each other, as hereinafter described, so that when connected with the presser-bar or foot of a sewing-machine a piece of cloth can be ruffled at a point distant from, its edge, and also sewed to any part of. another piece of cloth. By this arrangement the skirt of a ladys dress may be. trimmed with a seriesofruflgles of dlt'lerent sizes thereon and forming a part of this specification,

in which-N Figure 1 is a drawing of my invention. Figs.

' 2,3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 represent detached portions of my invention.

The same letters indicate "like parts in all the "I describe my improvement, which may be made of any suitable material, as being attached to a Singer sewing-machine; yet suitable modifications in the manner of attaching will adapt it -.to other machines.

A,'Fig. 3, is an arm tobe connected at c with the presser-foot bar of the machine by a screw and extending to the right, as at 9, Fig. 3, in or-- der that room for extending the cloth or ruffle in that direction may be made. The arm then turns down nearly to the bed-plate of the machine, as

at h, Fig. 3, leavin g the bed-plate unenclunberedi The arm then turns up, as at i, Fig. 3, to make bearing for the lever C, Fig. 2, to which itis conneeted by the rivetD, Fig. 5. The arm has aflange, l, and is thickened at c, Fig. 3, to receive and sup port the part 0, Fig. 4, of the feed-plate B, whichmay beof onepiece of metal and of form shown at Fig. 4. It should have a notch in it, that it may pass-each side of the needle and barely beyond it, as shown at Fig. 1--,s, Fig. 1, being the needle orifice in the cloth-plate of the machine. The

part about the needle should be thin and smooth, that it may cause'aslittlefriction as possible in its movements on the cloth. It may be attached to the horizontal part of the armA by letting its edge rest on the flange l, Fig. 3, and depressing the part m, Fig. 4, that it may pass beneath the arm and be turned up on the opposite side, as seenat n, Figs. 1 and 4.. The part 0 is turned up at right angles with the body of the plate, as seen in Fig. 4,:and passes behind the short arm of the lever G, as shown at p, Fig. 1, which both holds it'in position and gives it motion.- The part 0 has two lugs, a a, between which the short arm.

of the lever U and the arm Z ofthe index device E, Fig.6, operate, the former to give. motion to and the latter to regulate the extent of motion of the feed-plate B. The lever 0, formed asshown v at Fig. 2, receives its motion from the nut securi ing the needle, and astride which the part marked @1- passes. Upon the lever 0 there is a set-screw,

o, Fig.2, over which and the short arm of the le-I "er 0, and secured by thev rivet connecting the lever 0 to the arm A, is an index device, E, with its arm Z, formed as shown at Fig. 6, by which the movement of the feed late B may be regulated. Elevating or depressing the screw correspondingly varies the position of the figures-2, 3, 4 on the index, and also the relative position of the arms. operating between the lugs an, causing an increased or diminished movement of the feedplate B and of the length of the folds forming the ruffle. The number of yards of goods re uired to make a yard of ruffle will be indicated y the figure opposite the line w on the lever'O. But in all the, changes of the index the feed-plate B will always be carried to the 'same'point by thev needle, as seen at Fig. l, and will also always be in contact with the presser-foot of the machine. If, however, the presser-foot be'cut away on one side of the needle, as is the case with some niachines, a shoe made -of thin metal, as shown in Fig. 7, may be slipped on the presser-foot, that the feed-plate m a'y have bearingagainst the presser-foot on both sides of the needle and thus carry the cloth into a fold.

The operation of my improvement is as follows: The goodsto be ruffled are placed between the feed-plate B and presser-foot of the machine, and

as the needle passes down, carrying the longarm of U with it, the short arm of G or the arm Z of the index device acts on the feed-plate B, carry'- ingSit backward, leaving a space between'the feed plzite and needle, as shown in dotted lines in Fig.1.- Th'e n, asthe needle rises, the long arm of (I is carriedupwa-rd and the short arm of 0' moves the feed-plate B forward to 3V point indicated atv', end'in doing so has pressed against the presser-foot and carried theeloth with it, folding-it over'ready for the needle'in its next downward motion'to pass through the fold and hold it in place, or attaol'l it to a-nl'itherpieceot' 1 John sons improvement will ruffle th ev upper piece of goods, when .two pieces are placed in the machine, by; pes'sin the upper piece -hctween a couple of Y springs, the lower one ot'vwhich has 2t.

, backward nd teiwvard motion, and pressing the.

goods against the -'upper spring,,foldsthe clothinto 2t ruffle, 5t result accomplished by the action of my feed-plate B directly-against .the pr'sser- .foot of the machine.

I do not: claim {LS-116W the ruffling of a piece of goods at a distance from the edge when it is acconiplishcd by the feed of the machine, as With Arnolds andLe'slies improvements; nor do 1 claim rufliin the upper piece of goods at its edge.

What I do claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The arm A bent and flanged, as shown, and adapted to be secured to the presse -bavr, when combined, as described and shown, with the actuating arm 0 and the feed-plate B which reciproczi-tes on the arm, as set forth. v

2. The single feed-plate B adapted to-Work directly'a-g-ainstthe under surface of the presserfoot, and provided with the needle-notch s, the

turned-up portiens 0 and n, and the lugs a a, all constmct-ed and arranged as described.

The'index device E provided with theairm Z, 'incomhinz -tion with the l'ever' O, screw 11, 'and the feed plaite 13, all constructed suhstantia llyhs shown, and for the purposes set forth.

' EDWIN, J. TOOF Vitnesses: I

I. THOMAS Too'r, 

